Alien Invasions Around the World
by Charlett
Summary: The world is almost always in danger, but sometimes certain people orchestrate the rescuing. How did the Ouendan work to help save the world when the Rhombulans came to destroy all Music? They did what came naturally: Cheer.
1. Chapter 1

What's this? Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!? Who writes this stuff!?

Oh yeah, me, back when this place first put a section for it up. OH WELLS.

So yeah, you guys. I had a bunch of this stuff hiding out and I figure for National Novel Writing Month, I'd upload them instead of being completely inactive. Aren't I so sweet? Eheh, after leaving this fandom for so long, I guess I'm not as sweet as I say.

ANYWAY, I hope you guys enjoy it. I had fun writing this, and I really wanted to make it great before uploading it. I hope you guys enjoy it!

READ ON!

---

Everything seemed normal. People sang and danced in the streets, and life was good. However, things were not to stay that way for long. In England, drummers beat their drums in time to the marches of the Queen's Guard.

In a sudden and bright flash, they were frozen, encased in stone. People of all sorts screamed at the sight, and ran in a desperate attempt to escape from the huge ray that turned all in its path to stone.

Similarly, in Honolulu, women sang and danced, playing their ukuleles and entertaining passersby. The next moment, the women were turned to stone; their instruments were also turned into useless stone.

In Yuuhi town, Kanda Aoi twirled about in the gardens of Yuuhi Town's much loved park, which was smack dab in the middle of town. Tanaka Hajime smiled at her and she waved at him as she plopped on the bench in the garden. She placed her hand to her chest and extended her other arm, singing brightly for the recruit. "See, Haji-kun? I told you I can sing better than you!"

"I never doubted it in the first place, Aoi-san!" Hajime laughed happily. "Singing's always my hardest subject in cheering…"

"Oh, you don't mean that, you have the cutest tenor voice," she said, making the recruit blush lightly. The Cheer Girl sucked in a breath of air and released it. She sang her heart out beautifully…

…and the next second, Hajime covered his eyes from the suspiciously bright light, and the singing girl was reduced to stone. The recruit stared, dumbfounded, at the sight before him, and his lip twitched, "A… Aoi-san…? Aoi-san…!!"

---

The Ouendan HQ was abuzz. People were screaming for help everywhere at once, and no one was sure where to go, or what to do. Ippongi Ryuuta was shouting for everyone to report, and Amemiya Sayaka was biting harshly on her thumb nail. "We have to figure out what this is. How many people are here?"

"One, two…" Doumeki Kai, who was easily the tallest, counted off those who had responded to the Ouendan Leader's call. "Hajime-san and Aoi-san are missing."

"Where could they be?" Anna Lindhurst asked, fearing the worst, "People all over are turning to stone… Whoever creates music has been attacked…"

"Even the birds in the air are being struck from the skies…" Saito Atsushi looked livid, crossing his arms and squeezing them harshly as he spoke. "Whoever could do that to innocent animals deserves nothing but pain…"

"For now, we cannot risk leaving the HQ. We need… assistance…" Kai said, "I will request aid."

"K…Kai-san!" Ryuuta said, flailing lightly in anger, "We need you here! What are we going to do, just HIDE here? There are people who need us! We can't just abandon them in this trying time…!"

"For now, we need more power than this…" Kai said, "We also need to know more about what's going…"

"PEOPLE-OF-EARTH!" Most of the Ouendan ducked and covered when a huge, strange voice boomed from the heavens. Slowly and in unison, each of the squad left their quarters to look into the sky. There, hanging in the blue sky, was a huge eye of magnificent proportions. It glared down at the planet, as if searching their souls. The ships in the air… all of them were… "WE-ARE-THE-RHOMBULANS. YOU-SHALL-FOREVERMORE-BE-UNDER-OUR-CONTROL. OUR-FIRST-DECREE…

"THERE-SHALL-NEVER-BE-ANY-MUSIC! NO-BEATS, NO-INSTRUMENTS, NO-SINGING…!!"

---

Hajime knelt at the side of his friend. Aoi's arm was still extended; her smiling face was open in delight as she sang silently from her heart. The recruit didn't know what to do, so he just knelt at her side, placed his head in her lap, and sobbed, "Aoi-san…! Why? Who would ever do this to…?"

"NO-BEATS, NO-INSTRUMENTS, NO-SINGING!!" Hajime looked up at the sky, at the Rhombulan mothership, "ANY-WHO-FAIL-TO-COMPLY… WILL-BE-TURNED-TO-STONE! THUS-WILL-YOU-LEARN-TO-FEAR-HARD-ROCK. I-REPEAT!"

Hajime's breath caught in his throat as the voice repeated everything it had just said. The recruit clenched his teeth, a bright fire lighting within him. He turned to Aoi, and bowed lightly. "Aoi-san… I must go. There's something that needs my attention, but until then, I can't return you to normal. Please… forgive me…!" And with that, he prayed quickly for her soul and her quick recovery, and disappeared to meet with his friends.

---

Ryuuta paced angrily, like a caged lion. Anna twiddled with her hair, something she only did when she was nervous, which was a nice time to be. Suzuki Ittetsu took a deep breath, and finally spoke up, "What do you propose we do, Leader? You seem to be…"

"Aaaarg…! Kai-san! Why'd you leave us here all alone? Telling us to WAIT!?" Ryuuta hyperventilated, "I can't stand waiting here! No Alien's telling ME what I can or can't do! Come on, Ittetsu, Atsushi." The leader stormed off with a growl. "We're out of here."

"Ryuuta-kun…!" Ryuuta stopped when Anna stood. "You don't honestly think you can take on all those aliens all by yourself…?"

"Of course not," he said. Anna gave a confused look. "But then again, I doubt Yuuhi Town is going to be very happy to hear about their enslavement. We'll take them down like we did that meteor…!" The Cheer Girl didn't look so sure, and Ryuuta smiled in her direction. "Anna-san, could it be that you're worried about me…?"

"Only a little," she murmured, trying to avoid his gaze, "I mean, I don't doubt any of our skill, but this seems a little more… I don't think that one town's spirit can fight this full scale invasion. Ryuuta-kun, please, listen to Kai-san and listen to me."

Ryuuta gave her a look that showed he was considering it, maybe, if she was lucky… Then it flew out the window. "Atsushi, Ittetsu, let's go."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Anyone who harms animals deserves to be put in their place."

"Who can say that music isn't allowed? It's not something one can put down. Music is…"

"Music's alive!" Ryuuta said pridefully, "And no one can kill it! We'll show them just how powerful it is!" Anna watched as the three nodded at each other and disappeared, intent on defeating the aliens. The Cheer Girl bit her thumb and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Ryuuta-kun… please come back, I beg of you…" she said inwardly, "I… if I lost you…"

---

Ryuuta would not be denied. He stood in the middle of Yuuhi Town's park and shouted all around, "Everyone!" The residents looked up at the men they trusted for years to protect and help them. "We will NOT let you down! You know us, and we know you! I ask you…! Who will fight with us?"

People began to gather around the Ouendan. "We will throw off our oppressors and show them that NO ONE can take away our music!"

"Nya!" Neko the cat, who rested atop Tanaka Yasushi's head, meowed.

"My thoughts exactly!" The ramen shop owner proclaimed. Neko meowed again.

"If you keep talking like that, Mister Cheerers, don't you think you'll be put down?" Tsuyoshi asked, adjusting his glasses.

"I will fight with you!" Sugiyama Kouji proclaimed, "No one can destroy music! I pour my heart into my violin, and to have them take it from me… I would rather die!"

Yamagata Sachiko put her hair up in with a bobby pin and placed her hands on her hips. "I won't give up! You helped me, and now we'll help each other!"

Ryuuta soon obtained a huge following of Yuuhi Town's multiple residents. They refused to let these Rhombulans take over their world! Ryuuta raised his hand. "Osu!"

"OSU!" The town shouted in response.

The cheer began, "Ikuzee! San! Nii! Ichi! Sure!" and from there, the town made its stand. They challenged the Rhombulans to fight them, and once the aliens dropped down from their ships to tell them to cease and desist, Ryuuta stood like a general amongst his army. He may have stood in the middle of the crowd of people, but he stood on the large rock in the park, pointing at the aliens and DARING them to turn him to stone.

The Rhombulans raised their Flesh-to-Stone guns, but they could not fire them fast enough. Kouji played his violin, Sachiko sang loudly, Matsurida Shin clapped his hands and Yasushi clapped his ramen bowls together. The Yuuhi Town populous watched as the Rhombulans clutched their ears and many dropped their weapons, desperately attempting to escape.

"They really ARE afraid of music!" Tsuyoshi said.

"Then let's give them more, shall we?" Kouji said, smiling happily as he placed his violin under his chin.

"OSU!"

"UOOOOOOOO!"

The town was superb. The Rhombulans soon began to retreat, and Ryuuta shouted at them to leave their world forever. Many of the privates rushed to their superior officers, begging that they listen to the Ouendan's orders and just LEAVE. The officers slapped their subordinates around, especially when they received word from the central mothership. "WE-SHALL-SEND-IN-OUR-ELITE. THEY-WILL-NOT-FAIL. THE-WORMS-WILL-ALL-BE-DESTROYED."

"Is that all you have?" Ryuuta shouted, ever the general. He pointed and cheered as the Rhombulans rushed away from the townspeople. "If you must, LEAVE! You cannot change us! Music is alive! You can't remove it! You'll NEVER destroy us! NEVER!"

"Nya!!" Neko shouted, pointing down the way. The animal acted as the scout for the army, and they turned to see small group of differently dressed Rhombulans. They were the Elite…

"You can't beat us! Just try!" Ryuuta shouted, "Everyone! Don't give up! We can win! Work hard, let's go!"

"GOOOOOOOO!" The group continued their cheering, their singing and dancing. They believed in Ryuuta and refused to give up. No Elites would scare them!

"Go! Go! We can do it! Don't give up! Go!" Ryuuta roared, "We can…!" The Ouendan leader gave a cry when the rock he stood on suddenly exploded. A Rhombulan sniper burst it apart. Ryuuta dropped backwards, his arms flailing in a desperate attempt to keep him upright. Ittetsu reached out and grasped him tightly. Shaking debris from his hair, he punched the air. "Everyone! Just a minor setback! Everyone! You can…!"

A scream erupted from the crowd when one of the Elite resisted the music just long enough to fire his gun. Everyone stepped backwards, away from the statue that was Sachiko.

Ryuuta immediately felt the tide of battle surge against him. Some of the populous scattered, abandoning the fight, and others pressed towards the middle, hoping to let someone else get in the way of the lasers. Ryuuta begged them to stop what they were doing. "People! PEOPLE! We need to fight! We can't win like this…!"

The Elite fired wildly, striking stragglers and surging members of Ryuuta's small, ragtag army. Morale dropped immediately, and everything turned against the Ouendan. The leader shouted and roared but it was useless, only a few of the people remained: Shin, Tsuyoshi, and Yasushi (Neko still holding tightly to his hat, and Kouji was the most recent man turned to stone by the aliens). Ryuuta hyperventilated, sweat pouring down his brow, as the enemies raised their Flesh-to-Stone guns. They did not fire, however. They raised their arms, and the Ouendan and their small entourage looked upwards at the mothership. "YOU-SINGERS! YOU-THOUGHT-YOU-COULD-WIN?"

"We'll never give up!" Ryuuta shouted, "Not as long as we have hope!"

"Takuya deserves a world of music to grow in! What father would I be if I could not give something like that to him?" Shin growled.

"My brother… my family… they deserve the best!" Tsuyoshi glared at his enemy, "They're not always the best people, but I will give them the best!"

"Music saved my way of life. Without it, my ramen shop will go kaput!" Yasushi said.

Neko backed up his friend with a "Nya!!"

"YOU-FOOLS! YOU-HAVE-SEALED-YOUR-FATE!"

Ryuuta pointed his finger at the giant eye in the sky. "Bring it, you big… pussy… ugly EYE thing!"

There was a bright flash of purple, and then nothing…

---

I always wondered what it would be like for the Ouendan to fight the Rhombulans. While I'm not all "Yay Rhombulans come back!" I kinda wanted to know how they would act and respond to a little hot blooded cheering. So far, they're handling it pretty effectively, I say.

What happens next? YOU DECIDE! No not really. Send a review my way if you like it. Or if you hate it. I like hearing how much I suck, and you guys like making fun of things; it's a win win situation!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for reading this, you guys. I'm sorry this chapter isn't really as hot blooded as the ones after it, but there always needs to be a conflict that rises until the climax, right? And if you didn't get that, you need to listen more to your English teachers when they talk about literary critique.

Either way, READ ON!

---

"Hajime-kun!" Anna looked up when the Ouendan recruit appeared. He nodded and bowed low to the Cheer Girl. "We were all so worried about you. Where's Aoi-chan?"

The color in Hajime's face drained, and the recruit tried his best not to choke up. "I… I'm sorry… Anna-san… I couldn't… I couldn't save her…"

"Oh no…" Sayaka murmured, "Not Aoi-chan…"

"I'm so…so…so sorry, Anna-san, Sayaka-san…! But she…! In an instant…!" Hajime finally broke down and grabbed his head in his hands. "I didn't even know what happened…!"

"Hajime-kun! It's alright!" Anna wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. "It's not your fault! None of this is!" The recruit shuddered and shouted and writhed.

"Aoi-san…!"

Sayaka moved towards the bench outside of the headquarters so she could sit down without it being known that her legs gave out. Not again… She lost another Cheer Girl… First her sister… and now… "Aoi-chan…"

"We're going to beat them, right?" Hajime suddenly said, prying himself from Anna's hold and staring deep into her eyes, "Ryuuta-san… and Doumeki-san…! We're all going to go… and BEAT them, aren't we…?"

"Hajime-kun…"

"We're to remain here until further orders," Sayaka suddenly said. She wasn't in the mood to play "leader", but she was the highest ranking person there. "Kai-san is searching for assistance…"

"And Ryuuta-san…?"

"He's…" Anna sucked in a deep breath. "You can feel the energy, right? He's disobeying orders…"

The recruit shuddered lightly at the thought. "He's fighting right now?" Hajime turned and looked out over the town, and found the point that Ryuuta was fighting. It was simple: Ryuuta's energy was immense, and Hajime could probably feel it a couple hundred kilometers away. "I… I can feel him…"

"I can as w…" Anna and Hajime both sucked in a deep breath. Sayaka clutched her mouth to keep from throwing up. It started. Their energies were beginning to wink out, one by one.

"R…Ryuuta-san!" Hajime shouted, "He…!"

"Oh God… Please…" Anna prayed, "Please… Ryuuta-kun…!"

The three watched from afar, feeling the panic of the people, the destruction of lives, and the desperation of their leader. Hajime's heart got caught on his Adam's apple, and he turned to the woman beside him. "We can't just leave him there! We…!"

"We wait HERE!" Hajime turned around and Sayaka's lip twitched as she fought the raging emotions within her. "We wait here, just like Kai-san said. If… if not… then what will remain of the Yuuhi Town Ouendan when he returns?"

Anna looked down at the ground and Hajime clenched his teeth so hard his head hurt. "I can't just sit here…! After everything that's happened… Ryuuta-san's fighting for ALL of us and we're just going to sit here as…?"

The recruit was interrupted when a huge purple beam blasted from behind him. He whirled around and stared off into the distance. Nothing but silence followed; all of the energy that the young man had felt before disappeared in a moment. Anna screamed. "Ry…Ryuuta-kun…! RYUUTA…!!" And the Cheer Girl dropped to the floor as Hajime stared dumbfoundedly in the distance. He wasn't sure if his heart had stopped beating, or if he had stopped breathing. Either way, his chest hurt horribly, and he was filled with tons of different emotions. That… that was his LEADER…! Ryuuta…! The recruit looked down at Anna as she continued to sob into the ground, and she rubbed her eyes as she cried his name.

"Ryuuta-kun…! Ryuuta-kun, come back…! Please… PLEASE…!!" The recruit, not knowing what else to do, bent down and placed his hand on her shoulder. She reached up and grasped the long sleeve, wailing into it over her lost friend.

Sayaka looked like she was deep in thought. Her finger ran across her upper lip as she debated what to do next, and she stood up, walking to Anna's side. She helped the fellow Cheer Girl up and regarded the two with knitted brows and a determined face. "You two, listen to me very carefully…"

Hajime took small, short gasps of air as Sayaka continued, "You must remember, all of you… we have this…" She reached out and tapped the small emblem on Hajime's hat. He took it off and inspected it carefully. "Ryuuta-san… Ittetsu-san… Atsushi-san… they had it on their uniforms as well… they will be after us."

"Finish us all off, will they?" Hajime said, looking up at Sayaka with a determined frown, "I won't let them…! I'll…!"

"You'll remove your hat and your armband," Sayaka said, making Hajime open his mouth ineffectually as she continued, "And return home. Anna-chan… you…"

"The headquarters ARE my home…" Anna practically whimpered, "I… I have nowhere else to go…"

"Anna-chan… You could come home with either of us," Sayaka smiled, "My fiancé wouldn't mind meeting you."

Hajime blinked at Sayaka. "You have a fiancé? Since when?"

"Since I was six," she said with a smile, "Arranged marriage and all that…" She suddenly shook her head. "But that's not the point…! For now, all of us need to lie low until Kai-san returns. He'll know how to find us again. Until then…"

"Until then, we hide." Hajime didn't like the sound of that. "Ryuuta-san wouldn't have hid! That's not what an Ouendan does! Ryuuta-san…!"

"Ryuuta-san's not leading us anymore!" Sayaka shouted, glaring at the recruit. She finally blew a circuit. "You know what Ryuuta-san did? He DIDN'T hide! You know what happened to him? He went and got himself, and other valuable members, KILLED." Anna clutched her mouth to keep from throwing up. "We aren't throwing more people to the wolves! Hajime-kun, do you know how long the Yuuhi Town Ouendan have been in existence?"

Hajime gulped and shook his head. "Before Japan even HAD Ouendan, cheerers of Yuuhi Town have traced their masters back to minstrels of the Emperor. The last thing Japan needs is to lose its eldest lineage…!"

"So much for following tradition…" Hajime muttered, "Minstrels turning into Ouendan…? Where have we gone wrong?" Sayaka sighed and went a different angle.

"Hajime-kun. Do you have absolute, positive proof that Kai-san will return?" The recruit stared at her for speaking so traitorously. The Cheer Girl finished her thought with such brute honesty that the young recruit stopped dead. "If he is not able to return, you will be the last of Yuuhi Town's Ouendan. It will be your job to continue the traditions."

Hajime opened his mouth, but nothing came out. "…!" He suddenly felt very sick. "M…Me…?"

"You'd better beg the gods that he does return, don't you?" Sayaka asked with a sick smile, "So until then, it's my job to protect you. For now, we lie low. Our valuable protégé must be protected, after all…!"

"I don't know if I want to uphold anything right now…" Hajime groaned.

Sayaka reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, "So go home and protect your family, Hajime-kun. We'll wait patiently for Kai-san to return, and when that happens…" She smiled, "We'll save Ryuuta-san, and Yuuhi Town… Japan, and the world."

Hajime couldn't wait.

"I… I'll go check on my family, then," he said, grasping his hat by the brim and rubbing his thumbs lovingly over the front, "If… if anything happens to you…"

"Nothing will happen. We'll be fine… I promise." Hajime hadn't seen Sayaka so sweet, so maternal. Perhaps that was because Kai wasn't there to assure him. It was up to her now to rally the troops. He had to admit it: when the Cheer Leader tried, she did a wonderful job at that. "Now take care of your family, alright?"

Hajime saluted her. "Yes Ma'am!" He then turned around, and in a wink, he was gone.

Sayaka smiled as Hajime disappeared. It was now time for both she and Anna to return home. She placed her hands on her hips and turned around. "Alright, Anna-chan, let's…" she looked around. "A…Anna-chan?" The woman couldn't believe it. Where did Anna go? "…! Anna-chan…! Anna-chan… whatever you're planning on… it's not going to bring him back! Anna-chan…!"

---

Anna walked slowly down to Yuuhi Town's park. It was filled with grotesque statues of people she recognized, most of them she had helped before in her life. All of them had fearful looks in their eyes, their mouths open in terror. She could hardly stand to walk through the lanes, but there was something she needed to see. It was imperative that she…

Anna's eyes shot up when she heard some crying a ways away. The Cheer Girl was surprised; there was someone out in the park? Someone who WASN'T stone? She rushed towards the sound. "Hello? Is someone there?"

A woman whirled around, staring at Anna. Matsurida Shizu, the mother of young Takuya, stood before a grim reminder of the failed battle. A fourth of the entire populous stood in the vicinity. "Ahh… Matsurida-san… why are…?"

"A…Anna-san…!" Shizu sobbed, "S…Shin-chan… he…!"

Anna walked forward and Shizu took a step back. There, amongst the defeated people, was Takuya's father, Shin. The woman held her young son to her breast and tried not to sob. The baby flailed in anger that his mother was sad, and cried for justice. Anna stared deeply at the stone soldiers. Shin… Tsuyoshi… everyone…

Anna gasped and looked up towards the middle, at who Shin stood in front of. Moving Yasushi and Neko to the side slightly, she stepped forward and inspected the statue. What she saw brought tears to her own face.

Ippongi Ryuuta stood before a faceless enemy, and his face was screwed up in anger, never fear. Ever the true leader of an army, Ryuuta held his stone arm up, pointing at the evil tyrant, and he was shouting, even in his last moments. Ittetsu and Atsushi flanked him on either side, their arms pressed stately behind their backs. The Ouendan stood as a true testament against their adversary, and Anna couldn't help but cry along with Shizu about those they had lost.

She reached out and touched Ryuuta's face. It was rough; she always imagined it to be oily and… and she never thought that… that… She had a suddenly, fleeting thought. "Ryuuta-kun… if only I could bring you back…" she murmured, "Like… a fairy tale…"

"HALT!" Shizu and Anna whirled around and stared at the alien who spoke. A patrolling Rhombulan raised his gun, and Shizu clutched Takuya close to her to protect him from the enemy. "Step away from the rebels, or I will be forced to shoot."

Shizu immediately turned to Anna, asking her silently what they were going to do. Anna nodded lightly. She walked away from Ryuuta hesitantly and spoke as humbly as she could. It left a horrible, nasty taste in her mouth. "We will stand down, Sir… Please forgive us for our…"

The Rhombulan pressed a button on his wrist device, and spoke to someone, or something, on the other side in another language. Shizu and Anna looked at each other, and the alien ended his conversation and looked up at the women. "You two…" he looked lightly down at the child in Shizu's arms. "…three… You will come with me."

"For what reason?" Anna asked, preferring to do what she could to protect Shizu and Takuya. That's just what members of an Ouendan did, after all.

The Rhombulan made a noise, like he was laughing. Finally, it died down and he glared at the woman. "This place is off limits to the general public. For your offense, I must take you down to the detention center."

"D… detention!?" Anna cried, "This woman…! She…!" The two gave a cry when the alien raised his gun. Anna looked to Shizu, and apologized silently to her. The woman shut her eyes and held Takuya close to her.

"Let's go, Anna-san…" Shizu said, raising her head with a sincere smile on her face, "I won't… I won't lose now. As long as I have Takuya…" She closed her eyes. "I don't need anything else…"

Anna took a deep breath, and the women turned to the alien with determined faces. "We'll come quietly." They smiled. "But we won't like it."

The Rhombulan laughed again. "Guess how much I care?"

Anna shrugged; not much, she assumed.

---

Tanaka Hajime tried to smile, but it was hard. His heart was heavy, his feet were lead, and his hands were cold. It was so hard to stand before his family, stretch out his arms, and say, "I'm home. I'm here to stay."

Tanaka Jirou, Hajime's younger brother, stared at him with wide eyes. "What's happened to the town?"

"Everyone's all statues…" Tanaka Shinju, Hajime's little sister, murmured, "will they stay that way… forever…?"

Hajime sucked in a deep breath, and shook his head. "Shinju, you should know more than anyone that no one will stay the way they are forever, not as long as a member of an Ouendan has the power to…"

"But they'll kill you too!" Jirou shouted, grabbing at his gakuran in desperation, "They'll turn you into a statue just like everyone else! Nii-san, you CAN'T go away again! We can't lose you too!"

Hajime looked down at Jirou with a jerk. "What did you say?" he demanded of his brother. Jirou was hyperventilating. "Jirou, what did you mean by 'not losing me either'?"

"They took him away, nii-san… They took Father away." Jirou, who was a big boy and never cried, tried his hardest not to as he relayed the message. "Father was working hard… like usual… they said… he stayed out past curfew… and they took him away…"

"P…Papa's gone, Haji-nii-chan…!" Shinju sobbed, "Mama… Mama won't stop crying!!" Despite being a big boy, Jirou soon started in with the wailing as the children cried right in front of their elder brother. Hajime didn't know what to do. He had dried their tears when they were little, but scrapes were nothing on the terror his siblings must have been feeling. He dropped down to his knees and let them rush into his arms, wetting his shoulders with tears and phlegm. "Don't go away, Haji-nii-chan…! If you do, then we'll never see you again, and Mama will never stop crying…!"

"None of you will…" Hajime murmured, grasping them as tightly as possible, as if they could fly away at any moment, "No one will lose me, I swear, I won't let them take anyone else away…"

The three suddenly looked up when they heard someone enter the room. A woman in the prime of her adult life was looking down at her children. Tanaka Chouko stared at Hajime, and she suddenly opened her arms. "H…Hajime!"

"Mother…" Hajime picked up his sister (and Jirou wiped his nose and eyes to keep his mother from seeing his tears). "I… I'm home…"

"Hajime!!" Chouko rushed into her son's arms, and Hajime used one hand to hold Shinju and the other to catch his beloved mother. "Oh, thank the gods! If anything happened to you…!"

"Mother…" The young man let his family surround and cling to him. Tanaka Susumu, Hajime's father, had always told him to take care of the family if his father wasn't around to do so. So this is what being "family glue" felt like… "I'll never leave you. As long as I can, I will remain and protect you all."

"Don't… don't ever go away…"

"Haji-nii-chaaaaan!"

"My son… my dear, dear son…" Hajime closed his eyes. He wondered how long everyone was going to hold onto him like this… he really hoped that they never did let go…

---

For those who don't remember or whatever, Matsurida Shizu was the young woman who ended up marrying Matsurida Shin; their story is told in the first Ouendan game, with the song "Melody". Matsurida Takuya, their child, makes his first appearance as a baby during the finale, "Ready Steady Go", and the Ouendan in Ouendan 2 help a 6 year old Takuya in the song "Bambina". Takuya was also the young man who started the cheer that saved the Yuuhi Town Ouendan after "COUNTDOWN". It seemed only natural to make the family have a semi-important part of this story, as they seem to be linked with the Ouendan a little more than others. Tsuyoshi as well, but oh well.

Sorry, I wouldn't have done that if Shizu and Takuya don't play a larger part in this than normal, so I wanted to make sure we were all on the same page.

Also Hajime's Family are all OCs. They appeared first in "Hatachi", if you haven't read that, and actually care, you can go check it out. It's old and crappy though, so I apologize ahead of time.

ANYWAY. I hope you liked this chapter. Shoot me a review, please~

OH, ONE LAST THING:

If you guys like EBA as well, I'm uploading an EBA novel over in their section on Wednesdays, so be sure to look if you like insane but fun EBA stuff. Everyone, have a great week!


	3. Chapter 3

I am sick. This is why this is late.

I am so tired...

---

Hajime wasn't sure how much time passed as a Human under the tyrannical reign of the Rhombulans. Just living every day was a tough enough job, instead of worrying about silly things like what day it was. Each of Hajime's days was the horrific task of strapping himself up, kissing his family, and promising them that he would return. He would then slip out to find odd jobs that the remaining citizens needed around the town. Apparently the Rhombulans decided that the only way to procure items like food was to help them build their empire on Earth. It made Hajime sick to do so, but he had his family to take care of, and he would rather do what he asked then let his siblings and mother go hungry.

Usually the "odd jobs" ended up moving around the statues of people he knew. After his job was done, they would give him measly scraps of whatever crap they attempted to pass off as food and then order him home. It hurt Hajime to pick up Dan and Joe and move them from their usual post at their police box to a huge junkyard of statues; Yuuhi Town Park turned into a grotesque reminder of the alien's power. All of the statues of the people that defied them were placed on display for all to see. This included his friends as well; the Ouendan's statues were placed in the direct center of the park, as if to slander Yuuhi's "Generals". Anyone who thought to play hero like him was reminded that all resistance to the great and all-powerful alien race was futile. No Human would ever escape the iron tight grip of the Rhombulans.

Hajime apologized to Dan as he placed the policeman on the floor, and turned to pick up his pay. He strode down the walkway, making sure to not walk too fast for fear that someone would mistake him for a suspicious person (as a lot of the Rhombulans liked to do at random intervals, just to keep their subservient peons on their toes). He stopped suddenly when he passed by a bright, smiling woman who was settled on a bench. His heart sunk into his stomach and he couldn't help but approach the statue of his best friend.

Kanda Aoi smiled back at him.

Hajime was almost jealous of her. She smiled with such exuberance that he remembered she didn't even know what happened to her. He could just imagine her springing back up and giggling at him. "Oh, Haji-kun!" she would say, "Such a bright imagination you have! Aliens? Stone? Are you sure you haven't been playing too many of your brother's video games?"

"No…" Hajime replied, shaking his head, "It's all true, Aoi-san… It's all around us. Can't you see?" He moved slowly to the seat next to his friend, and he sat down. "Can't you see them, Aoi-san…?" The statue did not reply. It simply stared ahead. "Can't you see… I miss you…?"

The young man looked up when he heard feet shuffling on the floor. He stood up immediately and apologized to Aoi's statue. "I'll talk to you later, Aoi-san. I'm not supposed to be here without permission…" He then turned around and ran into a patrolling Rhombulan.

"What are you doing here, Human Filth?" he asked, "This is a place where your filthy human heroes go to rot. Do you want to waste away here too?"

"N…no sir…" Hajime said quickly, practically saluting the creature. He wondered if the rest of his spine slipped away at that moment. "I just… I finished my work here…" He pulled out a small note. "It's… it told me I would be promised…"

The Rhombulan snatched the paper up and scanned it quickly. Hajime felt a little put upon that the alien didn't even let him finish his sentence. Finally, the alien decided it was official enough, and fished around for something on his person. He tossed a Rhombulan bag to the man and demanded never to see him again. Hajime obliged quickly. Once again, food was procured and he lived through another day! Hajime chalked it up as a victory for all.

…except for everyone who was still turned to stone.

---

"Everyone," Hajime called as he walked into his house, "I'm home."

"Haji-nii-chan!" Shinju leapt into her brother's arms before he could even remove his shoes. "He's back! He came back!"

Hajime looked surprised when he placed his little sister on the floor. "Came back? Who? Father?"

"No…!" His sister replied, trembling with excitement. She took her brother's hand after his shoes were removed, and she dragged him into the living room. "The man! The big man…!"

Hajime nearly dropped the small pouch of food. He looked into the room, where three people, two familiar and one unfamiliar, sat. The Ouendan could hardly believe his eyes. "D…Doumeki-san!?"

---

"Where were you?" Hajime demanded of his leader as the unfamiliar man asked Jirou for another cup of tea, "Why were you gone so long, Doumeki-san?"

"I should have known the other squads were not going to take this lying down…" Kai murmured, "I searched for any that hadn't been destroyed completely. Any who survived refused to assist me."

"Indeed…" The unfamiliar man said, thanking Jirou for the new cup and drinking it slowly (for it was still hot), "All except I, of course. I mean, if you don't mind the interruption, Doumeki-san."

The director nodded in the man dressed in blue's direction. "Perhaps an introduction is in order. Hajime-san, this…"

"My name is Saionji Hayato of the Noble Asahi Ouendan," the man said, standing up straight, his arms at his sides, "I am the Asahi Town Ouendan's Leader and manager. It is a pleasure to meet you, Tanaka Hajime. I do hope you'll regard me favorably in your household."

Hajime was at a loss for words. Hayato was so prim, and the young man had practically forgotten that as the eldest male in the house, he pretty much owned everything that was in it. "Y…yes… please, sit, Saionji-san…"

Hayato bowed deeply and returned to his seat and his tea. Hajime wondered if all of the Asahi Town Ouendan members were like that… "So…" The recruit chose his next words carefully. "You're… the last of your squad?"

Hayato looked at Hajime, as if debating whether to answer the question. Finally, after taking another drink for reinforcement, he did. "It was just like any other day… our director was orchestrating our daily drills, but I could not take part in them. I had some of our Cheer Girls' food to be polite and ended up with food poisoning…" Hayato nearly turned blue at the thought of it. Hajime did. "While I was writhing in bed, I cursed the gods for not allowing me to cheer alongside my friends…

"Now I see why they kept me hidden away…"

"Saionji-san…"

"In one swift strike, the entire squad was reduced to stone statues. All of them, my entire squad, were gone…" Hayato turned to Jirou and asked for another cup. The Asahi Town leader must have really liked the Tanaka blend… "I felt so guilty. Why couldn't I have been taken with them? I would have given anything to trade places with any of them…

"When those Rhombulans declared their rule over Humanity, my townspeople did not agree. Music is the way of Asahi Town, and without it, they didn't think they could live. They fought to save it and lost…"

Hayato shook slightly; his trembling fingers were all that betrayed his completely calm, cool demeanor. "I failed them all. I failed my squad, my townspeople… I failed myself. My pride is all I have left, and if I ran now, I would lose that as well…" He looked up and regarded Hajime with amiable courage. "If you would, Tanaka-san! I would like to join you and Doumeki-san in protecting your people and saving our planet!"

Hajime had practically forgotten about that sort of reckless courage, that hot blooded resolve to fight for what he believed in. He once had that same emotion boiling within him. That was before he had a family to take care of, however. Hajime leaned forward, rested his head on his entwined hands, and thought hard. "I… I don't know if I can…" he murmured. Kai raised an eyebrow. The recruit took it to mean he was fully surprised with Haime's sudden change of heart. "I mean… if Ryuuta-san couldn't do it… I don't want to fight and lose. I can't leave my family alone with no one to care for them." The young man lowered his head until his forehead touched his hands, and he murmured, "Forgive me."

The director frowned so harshly that Hajime was afraid his face would crack. "I leave to find help… and I end up with less manpower than before. It would seem I failed my squad as well…"

Hajime suddenly looked up. "Doumeki-san, we all know that you did your best…"

Kai interrupted Hajime with a light mantra. "Tell me, Yoshi-sama…" he murmured, staring off into the distance. He was referring to his chief and master before him, Yamaguchi Yoshi. "What would you have done?"

"From what I heard of him, Yamaguchi-sama was truly one of the greatest Cheerers that Japan would ever know," Hayato said quietly, "It could only be expected that he would have done things differently. If he were here, our world would be safe at this moment…"

Hajime bristled at the way Hayato spoke. It wasn't threatening in any way, but the tone made the young Ouendan wonder if he was jabbing maliciously at Kai's abilities as a director. It made the recruit wonder what was really going on inside his mind. He was just about to open his mouth, when…

…pain. Hajime recoiled when an immense amount of pain attacked him. Hayato dropped his cup of tea in surprise (and apologized profusely when it hit the floor), and Kai's eyes flitted towards the window to the out of doors. "Oh my…" Hayato murmured as Jirou called for Shinju and cleaned up the mess that the Asahi Town Ouendan made, "I never expected to feel this much force this early on…"

"Haji-nii-chan…?" Shinju poked her head in the room when she heard Jirou shout for her. "Haji-nii-chan, is your head hurting again?"

"With this much pressure, it's a surprise your siblings can't feel it as well, Hajime-san," Kai said. Shinju didn't know why, but whenever Hajime's head hurt from empathy, she always knew how to calm him down, so she went right down to doing that for him.

"Haji-nii-chan! It's okay, I'm here…! Don't hurt anymore, please!" Shinju said, pleading with her brother. She tried to ignore the other people in the room, and focused instead on calming down the writhing recruit.

"Sh…Shinju…?" Hajime felt his sister press her hand against his forehead. He looked at her with one eye open (the other remained closed to ease the pain). "It's… heavy… there are so many people…"

"Are they calling, Haji-nii-chan…?" the girl murmured, "They need you, huh?" She looked very worried. "They never hurt you this much, though…"

"This is not one or two peoples' calls…" Kai said as he stood, "People all over the world are calling in unison."

"I suppose they cannot take this tyrannical rule anymore," Hayato said. He thanked Jirou for the boy's attendance to him and stood next to the director. "Personally, I don't blame them one bit."

"So we cannot waste your time anymore, Hajime-san," the director finished. Hajime looked up expectantly at Kai, and he bowed lightly. "We must be off."

"Y…Yeah…" Hajime murmured, still a little out of it because of the pain just minutes before. He waited a moment as the two Ouendan left, and he turned to look at Shinju. "…Do you mind?" he asked his sister.

She shook her head. "No…" she said with a sincere smile, "Right, Jiro-nii-chan?"

Jirou popped his head up from his cleaning of the floor. "Huh?"

"Jiro-nii-chan!" Shinju said, puffing her cheeks up, "We're saying Haji-nii-chan can go save Papa and the world, right?"

"Oh, yeah!" Jirou said, "Nii-san, I know saying something NOW is kinda silly… but we're behind you. We want Father back… and if you can help save him…"

The young man tried to think of something he could do to NOT say something sappy. "Then more power to you, I guess…!" Hajime smiled. It seemed his brother wasn't sappy, but he was cheesy.

"Haji-nii-chan, just do your best to come back with Papa…" Shinju said as the Ouendan stood up. He went to go find his Gakuran, and soon he was prepared to cheer. There was only one thing missing. Shinju smiled as she held out his hat. "See you soon, Haji-nii-chan…"

Hajime took the hat, knelt down, and hugged his sister. "Yeah, Shinju…" he murmured, "See you soon…"

---

Awwwyeahhhh Hayato. Hatin' on all the other Ouendan oh yeahhhhhhh.

So Kai, Hayato and Hajime: great Ouendan squad, or THE GREATEST Ouendan Squad?

Imma put you down for Great.


	4. Chapter 4

Work work work. I should be taking a nap right now. OH WELL. Apologies again for it being late.

READ ON!

---

Anna Lindhurst sat in silence. She wondered how the Rhombulans had orchestrated setting up such a large detention center quickly. She then learned that they had "borrowed" the prison from the town to place those who had broken the strict laws within. She sat close to Shizu, who was hugging Takuya to her chest.

Many others were sitting around the detention center, either sobbing quietly or hugging themselves in fear and sadness. They had gone without music for weeks, and many were feeling the horrible weight upon their shoulders. "I'd give anything… ANYTHING… for some music…" Moriyama Karizou muttered under his breath as he drummed his fingers against his knees, trying to think up a tune to it.

Iijima Eisaku paced back and forth, muttering nothings under his breath, "This is no way for a city to be run…!" the mayor groaned, "Nearly all of the residents are prisoners! Even the mayor's a prisoner! This is no way for a city to be run…!"

"I want to go hoooome…" Wakana sobbed, hugging Torao close to her.

Everyone groaned and shifted, and Anna sighed to herself. She felt something stir in the earth, in the air, and she looked up in thought. Something strange was going to happen today, she knew it. She suddenly smiled and turned to Shizu. "Shizu-san…! Can you feel it?"

"Hmmm…?" The woman looked up. "What are you talking about, Anna-san?"

"The people…" Anna trembled with excitement. "They're calling for help…"

Across the ocean, people were shouting for assistance. In China, people were screaming in rage. In Russia, they were refusing to assist the Rhombulans, and in America, people were roaring for help. They needed assistance. Everyone needed help! That was it; it was time to fight back! She smiled brightly. "We… We have to join them! We need to help!"

"That's it!" Shizu cried out, "If we all…"

"These aliens cannot be defeated if only one attacks them… but if we all work together…" Anna smiled. "We may just win this…"

Shizu nodded. "Right, we have to do something… we have to…"

Everything was right with the world in the next second. Something exploded in exuberant assurance that everything would be okay. Anna looked up, and three figures stood silently. They were silhouetted by the sun, and they stood in formation, raising their arms and proclaiming that they would take care of those who needed them. The one who led the charge prepared for his cheer. "OSU!"

"K…Kai-san…!" Anna murmured in amazed delight, "H…he came back…"

The Rhombulan guards glared at the offenders. Hajime, Hayato, and Kai glared back at them. "We'll be taking back our planet now, if you don't mind…" The director said.

"Don't even bother with a warning," The commanding officer growled, "I've seen these kind… they're nothing but trouble. Just shoot them down and…" The Rhombulans gave a fearful shout when their officer dropped to the floor. Anna, who had screeched into his ear in a perfect high pitch, shot a look at them that could kill a serial killer.

"If you touch one of them…" she hissed, "I swear to God I'll…"

"They came back!" Eisaku cried, "The Ouendan have returned!"

Tanaka Susumu looked up at his son. "So… this is the time…" The Rhombulans glared at the Ouendan as they dropped into the center, shouting another "OSU!" "This is the time we fight back."

"Ikuzee!" the Ouendan shouted, "San! Nii! Ichi! Sure!"

Anna had never heard the song that was filling the center before. It was nothing that the Yuuhi Town Ouendan had ever sung. She seriously doubted that it was used often by the newcomer, either, but the Ouendan were still singing to it. It was best to remain in harmony rather than go one's own way, after all. But where did this song come from? This song was… Anna turned around and stared off into the distance. Shizu looked over at the Cheer Girl as the entire detention center got up to dance, sing, and swing. "A…Anna-san…?"

"It's someone else's song…" Anna murmured, "From… Canada…? No… a little to the south… American…" She smiled. "So, we are to be saved from American Cheerers, hmmm…?"

The Cheer Girl turned back around, and prepared to join her friends in singing. "Let's go, Shizu-san. We mustn't let them win. If we lose now…"

"Right!" Shizu returned, shouldering Takuya, "Let's…!" The women were interrupted when something came out of the shadows, wrapping its hands around the women's mouths. Sayaka pulled them backwards and into the corner.

"Shhh! Don't shout, I need to speak with you, Anna-chan…" Sayaka murmured, pressing a finger to her lips, "It's been a while…"

"Where were you, Sayaka-san…?" Anna demanded of her superior, "Have you been hiding?"

"Of course not. The only reason I'm here is because I've been watching out for…" She pointed out Hajime, one of the Ouendan members working alongside Kai. "I said we had to look out for our protégé, didn't I?" She smiled. "But no, our cheering won't be here, Anna-chan…" The Cheer Leader winked lightly. "Ours will be at the park."

Anna blinked at Sayaka, and smiled brightly. "Shizu-san, will you accompany us?" she asked, "I promised I'd take care of you and Takuya…"

"Wherever you're going, Anna-san, I'll accompany you," she replied with a nod. The three women, their oath taken, nodded in silence at each other. The Americans' song was right. They weren't going down without a fight. When the women disappeared, the men continued their cheer. They wouldn't give up. This was just the beginning…

---

The park was quieter than most of the other places. Since there were no people allowed in it before they let hell break loose, there were no singers and dancers. Also, all of the Rhombulans had been ordered to assist the uprising at the detention center. The park was completely devoid of all life until Anna stepped lightly on the cobblestones. Sayaka adjusted her hair slightly, and Shizu shuddered with child in tow. "W… What just happened…?" she murmured, "We were in one place one time… and then…"

"…Best not to think about it at the moment, Shizu-san…" Sayaka said with a smile, "Our first order of business. Where's Aoi-chan?"

The women looked like they were in thought. Anna snapped her fingers. "I remember seeing her before they hauled us off to their detention center. If I remember…" She turned around, and the women blinked at the statue three feet away from them. "Well… that was easy…"

Sayaka approached the ever-singing statue, and raised her pompoms high. "Go! Aoi-chan! You need to come back!"

"Sayaka-san?" Shizu murmured.

"Come on, everyone! Cheer!" Sayaka looked like she was concentrating hard, "We can't bring her back if we don't cheer! Just think, with all the Rhombulans distracted…"

"We can cheer everyone back…!" Anna said, "Oh, Sayaka-san, you're a genius!"

"Oh, you don't mean that~" Sayaka said in a tone that said, "Aren't I really?" And so, the Cheer Girls worked hard to bring their friend back. Even Shizu and Takuya assisted. Shizu begged Aoi to return, and Takuya clapped his hands happily. As the people worked, the stone cracked. Little pieces fell apart, and soon Aoi's hand broke free. The young Cheer Girl stretched happily and spat out a piece of stone that was stuck in her mouth.

It was then that she looked up at the people staring down at her expectantly, and she smiled. "Hi, girls!" she said. She then blinked and frowned lightly. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Aoi-chan!!" The Cheer Girls practically smothered their friend. "You're alright!"

"Of course I am!" she said, "But where's Haji-kun? Why isn't he here…?"

Sayaka was amazed Aoi didn't even realize what had happened. Truly, she was a first class airhead. Sayaka sighed, and started from the beginning, "Please listen well, Aoi-chan. We don't have much time for this…"

---

"So the giant ships above us are aliens and Haji-kun is working with Kai-san and we're going to cheer to return Ryuuta-san, Ittetsu-san and Atsushi-san from their stony graves?" Aoi asked. Sayaka nodded as Anna fidgeted nervously. They didn't have time for all this talking! "Alright then! Let's go save Ryuuta-san and help Haji-kun out!"

The women looked at each other, and smiled brightly. Everyone around the world was working so hard to fight against the Rhombulans. They needed to help out as well. The Cheer Girls, who were prepared to give it their all, rushed off to find the graveyard of Yuuhi Town's incapacitated heroes. Shizu ran at their tail, and the women all stopped when they saw the mountain of statues. Sayaka turned to her subordinates, pompoms in hand. "Are you ready, girls?"

"Iku wa yo!" they shouted, raising their pompoms in return, "Tsurii, Tuu, Wan, Go!"

The girls cheered loudly as their blood pumped to the music. The unknown music was catchy, beautiful, forceful, and most of all, hot blooded. With such powerful music on their side, they were sure to save their friends and their townspeople!

Shizu looked on in fascination as the stone on the townspeople began to flake away. One by one, the people broke free of their mineral prison, stretching their limbs and looked around at each other. "We…" Kouji smiled, "We're free!"

Yasushi looked up at Neko. "Isn't that wonderful?" He asked his friend. Neko meowed appreciatively to the Cheer Girls.

"Shin-chan…!" Shizu cried happily, rushing into her husband's arms. Takuya giggled with delight as his father grappled the boy and twirled him about.

Sachiko tumbled from the array of now flesh people, and Tsuyoshi assisted in getting her bearings. Anna brushed past the two as Aoi and Sayaka tended to those who had trouble standing after weeks of inactivity. The woman smiled brightly. Ippongi Ryuuta was beginning to break away from his curse as well.

"And ANOTHER THING!" Ryuuta roared, still yelling at the aliens that had trapped him previously, "The next time you ever think you…" The Ouendan Leader stopped shouting and looked around. "…Huh…?"

"It would appear that we were rescued…" Ittetsu said, "By the Cheer Girls, no less."

"Oh, how can we ever thank you?" The townspeople cried, pushing in to crowd around the women. Ryuuta looked slightly put upon. Sure, he was the one that needed rescuing, but at least he led the charge! It almost didn't seem fair…

"Oh, oh, there's no need to thank us," Sayaka said. Aoi giggled lightly as the Cheer Leader got an idea, "Although, Ryuuta-kun…~"

"What now…?" The Ouendan Leader asked, trying not to gulp.

"For scaring Anna-chan by running off and getting yourself killed, I think you deserve to take her out for steak!"

"Steak!?" Ryuuta shouted, "I'm not MADE of money, you know!"

"Forget it, Sayaka-san," Anna said, walking away from Ryuuta and towards the townspeople, "Right now, we have to do what we can to defeat the Rhombulans. Already, the cheer is almost complete."

The Ouendan could hear it. The unfamiliar but heart racing music was nearing its finale. Just one bridge and a chorus remained until it would finish. The Rhombulans would be defeated with the end of the song.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Ryuuta asked, thrusting his fist in the air, "OSU! We'll finish off these aliens and…!"

Across the ocean, there was a huge purple flash, and a chill ran down everyone's spines. Ryuuta whirled around and stared intently as the music immediately stopped with the death of those who started the cheer. They had been turned into stone straight away.

"Oh God…" Anna murmured as Aoi clutched her cheeks in fear. It couldn't be TRUE, could it?

"Dammit, NO!" Ryuuta roared, "Whoever was leading the charge! How could you…!?"

"They're gone…" Sayaka murmured, "And with them, all our hope has disappeared as well…"

The Ouendan suddenly realized that they were royally screwed. Atsushi stared silently into the distance and the people of Yuuhi Town prepared to head for the hills. They had lost once again, and they seriously doubted they could continue to fight after such a powerful force was defeated.

Sayaka took a deep breath, lowered her head, and gave up. The other Ouendan members stared at where the flash had come from, numbly letting the people pass by them in an attempt to run from the aliens, and the Cheer Girl shook her head. "So… that's it then…"

"Sayaka-chan…" Aoi murmured.

"I should have known," Saitou muttered, a smile of utter disgust on his face, "There's always someone better than us. It appears we finally met our match…" He frowned. "It would be different, it would be different if only Yoshi-sama were here…!"

"But he's not," Ryuuta said suddenly. The others looked up as their leader turned to face them, and he hotbloodedly cheered them all on. "We can't continue to rely on Yoshi-sama's memory to do everything around here. Everyone, listen to me." He struck the manliest and most awesome pose that he could, and Sayaka wiped away the tears that were forming at the edge of her eyes. "We can do this, we have to do this!"

"Ryuuta-kun," Anna said, turning to the leader, "Hajime-kun and Kai-san are in danger. They were fighting in the detention center. At this rate…"

"They'll meet the fate we obtained," Ittetsu finished the thought, "Ryuuta-san, we cannot allow that to happen."

"Right." Ryuuta turned around to face the rest of the Ouendan members. "Sayaka-san, are you with me?"

Sayaka wiped away the last bit of moisture from her eyes, and she nodded at Ryuuta. "Of course. The Cheer Girls have your back."

"Alright! Let's go save our friends! It's the least we can do!" Ryuuta shouted, "And THEN we'll decide what to do from there. That is, if we live and all."

Anna sighed lightly. "R…right. Let's go." The Ouendan looked at each other, and in a moment, they were gone. Shizu and Shin, holding their son, were the only two who remained in the park. They looked far across the ocean, and then at each other. If those people were really turned to stone… then perhaps…

"If… if we try hard enough…" Shizu murmured, "It brought you and the others back…"

Shin nodded and brought his wife close to him. He smiled and said, "It's the least WE can do."

The small family looked off across the ocean, and prayed with the rest of the world.

---

I don't know what to say, other than I love Eisaku. He was such an adorable guy running for mayor. I always wondered why he didn't appear in OTO2, seeing as how he's Yuuhi's freaking MAYOR but then again I guess mayors really don't need all that much help from male cheerleaders. OH WELL.

So uhm. Yeah. Review?


	5. Chapter 5

AWWWIGHT THE ENDDDD

READ ON!

---

Meanwhile, Hajime found that he and his companions were in quite a pickle. In a split second, the music that everyone had rocked to was shattered, and the Rhombulans had herded off the residents of the town. The young recruit backed up until he ran into Hayato, who was standing near Kai. The three stood in a small circle; the Ouendan was surrounded.

"Well…" Hayato murmured with a smile that showed he regretted nothing about his actions, "It was nice working with all of you while it lasted…"

"Do not give up now," Kai demanded of their temporary partner, "The Yuuhi Town Ouendan have gotten out of worse scrapes than this…"

"I see… I suppose I do have to agree that you destroyed that meteor…" Hayato muttered, "But that doesn't help our position in the slightest, does it?"

"Saionji-san," Hajime said with a faint smile in the Asahi Town Ouendan Leader's direction, "For what it's worth, it was wonderful working with you."

Asahi Town's Ouendan Leader flicked a stray hair from his face nonchalantly as the Rhombulans raised their flesh-to-stone guns, pointing them at their enemies. "I thank you for the compliment, Tanaka-san. Now is the time for all of us to start praying."

"Mother, Shinju, Jirou… Father…" Hajime prayed to put his soul at rest when he would lose it. "I'm sorry for leaving you… I'm sorry I wasn't the son who could do what you asked…

"I'm sorry for being worthless…"

"If you say one more word like that, Hajime-kun…!" A voice threatened. The Rhombulans whirled around, wondering where the voice came from. Ippongi Ryuuta dropped down next to the three Ouendan, his landing creating a small puff of dust on the ground. "…I'm going to grind your face into paste!"

"R…Ryuuta-san! You're alright!" Hajime cried in delight and relief, his eyes sparkling at the mere thought that his leader wasn't a statue any longer.

"The most uncouth of the bunch…" Hayato muttered to himself with an air of disgust. He turned to Ryuuta and put on an air of authority. "Well then! I suppose this is the infamous Ippongi Ryuuta, Leader of the Yuuhi Town Ouendan?"

Ryuuta blinked at Hayato, and then nudged Hajime in the side. "Hey Hajime-kun. Who's the fruitcake?" The Ouendan in blue turned as red as Ryuuta's hair both from anger and embarrassment.

"I'd hate to interrupt this reunion, but we aren't out of the woods yet, Ouendan," Kai said. Everyone snapped to attention when the Rhombulans showed them that Kai wasn't joking. They were still surrounded, and still in danger.

"Is that all?" Ryuuta said with a cocky air. Hajime stared at his leader with a look that asked if he had finally lost his mind. "We haven't lost yet! Behold, Ippongi Ryuuta's posse and harem!"

Hayato blinked in disbelief at Ryuuta's uncouth words, Hajime hid his reddened face in embarrassment, and Kai looked up. He began to smile. "So that's it…"

Standing at each corner of the prison's walls were members of the Ouendan. Ittetsu smiled. "Let's do this."

"Let's get this party started!" Aoi shouted in delight at the prospect of a new battle.

"Ryuuta-kun, we are NOT your harem!" Sayaka chastised the leader.

"Rhombulans, your time is nigh…" Atsushi cracked his knuckles. Anna simply prayed lightly and prepared for the fight before her.

"All of you!" The Rhombulan officers shouted, "Prepare to die!" The aliens were answered and met with a sound beating of their eardrums. The music of the Ouendan was harmonious, and the entire prison was filled with it. The soldiers dropped like flies, clutching their ears in pain.

Yet something was wrong, Kai noted. Despite the fact that each of the members were on key and worked together in perfect harmony, there was dissonance which destroyed some of the power of their cheer. It didn't matter much, as the combined efforts of the Ouendan was enough to defeat everyone at the detention center. The townspeople who were trapped rushed out from their hiding places in joy. "Ouendan! You saved us!" Eisaku shouted. He approached their director and bowed low to the ground. "On behalf of all of Yuuhi Town, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Kai allowed the praise to be showered on him by the mayor while Ryuuta grasped his recruit and mashed the young man's hat into his head. "Hey Hajime-kun!" the leader said, "How was that, huh? Dramatic enough rescue for you?"

"Y…Yes…" Hajime groaned, "C…Can't… breathe, Ryuuta-san…"

"So this is your leader then, Tanaka-san…?" Hayato suddenly said, attracting the others' attention. He placed his fingers on his chin in thought as Ryuuta released the recruit to look at the Ouendan in blue, who bowed so low Ryuuta wondered how he didn't fall over. "My name is Saionji Hayato. I do hope you'll regard me favorably, as it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." Ryuuta practically barfed from the stuffy, formal speech.

"Ippongi Ryuuta. Nice to meet you," Ryuuta said. He looked at Hajime, who gestured silently to Hayato, and Hajime's leader snapped his fingers in remembrance. He bowed lightly, about five seconds too late.

"I…Indeed… So you lead young Tanaka-san, then?" Ryuuta shrugged in response, and Hayato put on a tiny, nasty smirk with his demeaning look. "I wonder just how well you do your job, anyway…"

Hajime blinked at what Hayato implied, and Ryuuta nearly exploded. "What's that supposed to mean?" The Yuuhi Town's Ouendan's Leader demanded. Hajime tried to look like he wasn't embarrassed. Sometimes Ryuuta was just TOO hot blooded, shouting all the time…!

Hayato checked his nails, clearly immune to the mystical intimidation of a Cheerer (which was obvious, as any high ranking Ouendan Cheerer had to at least have some immunity, or else everyone would be cowering before the others from second hand fear). "I do seem to recall a moment when Tanaka-san mentioned my skills. Do you remember, Tanaka-san…?" Hajime's eyes shot up at Hayato as he shrugged his shoulders and laid waste to Ryuuta's insults with a smug smirk that made Ryuuta's eye twitch in annoyance. "I was just thinking… perhaps you aren't the leader everyone assumes you are…?"

"Say that again to my face, you pale faced, hook nosed, falcon turd!" Ryuuta roared. Hajime had to hold the leader back to keep him from attacking the Noble Ouendan Leader. "I'll make sure you'll never walk straight again!"

"Ryuuta-san, please don't…!" Hajime cried.

"Ohhh! So violent…! Why ever would I trust myself around you…?" Hayato said with faux fear. He flashed them his smirk and continued to push the leader's buttons. "Tanaka-san, if he must vent his rage through fisticuffs, I suppose that I'll have to remind Doumeki-san and the rest of Yuuhi Town that their leader is a barbarian of epic proportions."

"I hope you don't want kids because when I'm done with you…!"

"Ryuuta-saaaaaaan…!"

"What's going on…?" Aoi murmured as the Cheer Girls approached. Sayaka blinked at the scene and Anna glared at Ryuuta. Yuuhi Town's Ouendan Leader shot Hayato another look, to which the rival Ouendan shrugged lightly. Finally, Hajime could release his friend and pay attention to Aoi. "Haji-kun, you're alright!"

Hajime whirled around and smiled happily at the Cheer Girl. "Aoi-san! You're alive!" He fidgeted heavily as the memories of the beginning of the invasion returned. "When you were turned to stone… I was so worried… I thought you were gone forever…!"

Aoi smiled. "Silly Haji-kun, it'll take more than that to stop me!" Hajime smiled. At least she thought of him as silly for something other than the aliens… He felt so happy that Aoi was safe. He couldn't exactly name the feeling though. It wasn't happiness… ecstatic joy? There were emotions welling in him that he recognized and knew… they were just on the tip of his tongue.

"You feel that?" Ryuuta suddenly said. Hajime looked up as his leader turned to Kai. "Hey! Kai-san! You feel it?"

"How could I not? It's welling up all over the world…" Kai said, interrupting himself from his conversation with Eisaku to rejoin his squad. Ittetsu and Atsushi watched as he nodded. "The war's not over yet. The cheer's just begun."

Hajime tried not to hit himself for being an idiot. The feeling he felt didn't have anything to do with Aoi! It was the blood in his veins, pumping faster. His heart beat to the rhythm of the people around the world. If he concentrated, he could feel something being spelled out, similar to the way lyrics could be felt through a hot blooded rhythm. However, the beat wasn't strong enough for him to be able to tell exactly what was being spelled… "What's it saying…?"

"E…" Anna murmured with a blink.

"Bee…?" Ryuuta questioned, wondering when honey collectors came into the mix.

"A!" Aoi finished, knowing English as well as Anna.

"E-B-A?" Hajime asked.

"E-B-A… Is it a code?" Ittetsu wondered.

"Who cares! It's got a catchy beat!" Ryuuta shouted, "Come on everyone, let's join in!"

"OSU!"

"E-B-A! E-B-A! E-B-A!"

"OSU!"

"Ii Bii Eh!" Ryuuta butchered the letters.

"OSU!"

"EBA! EBA! EBA!"

A burst of energy erupted that sent a ripple throughout the world. It felt like the small aftershock of an earthquake. In a moment, the entire world did an about face. The sadness and all around hopelessness of the earth's situation took a turn for the better. The coded EBA had returned. No amount of stone inducing ray could stop them now.

"Are you ready?" The energy asked as a new song began. The Ouendan didn't mind following right along with it.

"OSU!"

"GO!"

"Three! Two! One! GO!"

Music returned to Mother Earth. Everyone in the world worked hard and did their best to dance, sing, and defeat the Rhombulans. The energy was so humongous that Hayato could feel Asahi Town break away from their stone prisons. He tried not to shed a tear as he felt his friends join in.

Indian cheerers continued with the assistance of French cheerers, who in turn passed their energy to African cheerers, who collected it and sent it off to South America. All of the energy of the world was converging. The Rhombulan Mothership could not understand what was going on. "WHAT-ARE-YOU-DOING? THE-MUSIC! STOP-THE-MUSIC!"

Canadian cheerers packaged the energy collected from the singing and tossed it over to the fabled EBA, who caught it along with all of the energy from South America. The combined energy was giving Ryuuta a headache from Japan. He could only imagine how immense the pressure was in America.

"Music lives!" The song shouted. There was no language barrier any longer. Music united everyone from around the world. "Music lives!" It shouted. Russians shouted "Music lives!" Ethiopians assured themselves that "Music lives!" Even in Japan, Ryuuta and the Ouendan worked together. "Music lives!" they screamed.

They could see a small beacon of energy from across the ocean. It rose up, higher and higher into the sky. "NO! NO, STOP, THE-MUSIC! STOP! WHAT-ARE-YOU…? STOP-THE-MUSIC! NO! PLEASE! STOOOOOOP!!!"

All of the converged energy united and slammed full force into the Rhombulan Mothership. Hajime stared in awe as it exploded, sending sparks and debris every which way. It was like a huge firework had been set off, one that created hundreds of thousands of tiny meteors falling to earth.

The Ouendan stood in silent awe for a moment, before they celebrated all at once. Ittetsu cheered, Atsushi sobbed, Anna hugged Ryuuta, Aoi kissed Hajime on the cheek, and Kai and Sayaka stood still, smiling brightly (and almost dumbly) at the fact that it was over. Everything was finished.

"Saionji-san!" Hajime said, turning to speak with Asahi Town's Ouendan to keep from showing his deep blush to Aoi. Hayato was nowhere to be seen. The recruit was confused, and Aoi stood alongside the recruit, placing her hands on her hips in mild annoyance.

"The nerve of him…!" she said with a slight whine, "He couldn't even hang around to have a party with all of us?"

"I suppose not…" Hajime murmured, a knowing smile on his face, "You know, I bet he missed all of his friends…"

"With friends like him, who needs enemies?" Ryuuta growled. Hajime shook his head good-naturedly. He could hardly believe it was all over.

"Hajime…" The recruit looked up and he sucked in a deep breath. Tanaka Susumu, his father, stared him straight in the face. "Hajime… you did a fine job, My Son."

"Father…" Hajime whispered, awestruck by his father's compliment, "Do you mean that…?"

"Since when has your father lied to you, Haji-kun?" Aoi asked. She pushed her friend forward lightly, and Hajime stared dumbfoundedly at his father. "Now go bond with your father!"

"Easy for you to say…!" Hajime thought to himself. He composed himself and took a step forward. "Thank you for your kind words, Father… I mean… I didn't do much… nothing more than you or the others did…"

Susumu glared at his son, and Hajime gulped. "That can't be possible," Susumu said, "My son did a wonderful job."

Hajime stared in disbelief at his father. "I…is that so…?" he asked quietly, hiding the blush on his face.

"Although you certainly don't look healthy enough…" Susumu glared at him, poking the thin man in the ribs. "Why aren't you gaining weight? Are you sick? Get a wife, you bum. Someone needs to care for you or you'll keel over."

"Thank you for your advice, Father," Hajime said, taking that as his father's way of saying that he was proud of Hajime. Susumu straightened himself up and sauntered off, muttering about how the house better be clean by the time he returned.

The young man turned back around and smiled at the Ouendan before him. Ryuuta winked at Hajime and the recruit brushed his Gakuran off. "Well, everyone, I do believe we can classify this mission as complete." Hajime said as he adjusted his glasses.

"Huh…" Ryuuta muttered, "You sure it's not that our cheer's a 'big success'?"

Hajime frowned. "Well… I suppose, but I just thought 'complete' seemed a little more relevant. Not sure why though…"

"You're one weird kid, Hajime," Ryuuta said. Hajime blushed lightly. "But that's what I like about you!"

"Thank you, Ryuuta-san!" Hajime replied with a bow.

"Now then, party time!" The leader shouted, walking off and making sure the rest of the squad was on his tail. "Juice! Let's get some juice!"

"Juice again?" Sayaka whined.

"Let's smash melons!"

"Only if you buy them, Hajime-kun."

"No fair…"

The Ouendan left the prison, which soon turned into a memorial, honoring those who fought that day against the Rhombulans. From that day on, the prison was known as the "E B A Memorial Prison".

It would be many a year before those of Yuuhi Town ever found out who "EBA" referred to…

The End~!

---

OSHIII ENDINGGGG

Hope you guys enjoyed it. Also no, I'm probably not going to do an Ouendan/EBA Crossover.

The creators were hoping that the franchise would get big enough to attempt it on their own, so I would rather not try to do something that they'd be better off doing. It doesn't mean I can't foreshadow it though! How amazing it would be...

ANYWAY, thanks for reading and for those who came later, I hope you liked it! Send a review and tell me what you thought! Was it stupid? Awesome? Fun? Whatever! I'm looking forward to hearing from you~!


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